Crises, war, and diplomacy : lessons for world politics / John A. Vasquez, Andrew P. Owsiak.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Vasquez, John A., 1945- Author.

Owsiak, Andrew P., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Crisis management--History--19th century.

Crisis management.

Crisis management--History--20th century.

Diplomacy--History--19th century.

Diplomacy.

Diplomacy--History--20th century.

World politics--19th century.

World politics.

World politics--20th century.

Military history, Modern--19th century.

Military history, Modern.

Military history, Modern--20th century.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xviii, 467 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, United Kingdom ; New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, 2026.

Summary:

Why do some international crises between major states escalate to war while others do not? To shed light on this question, this book reviews fifteen such crises during the period 1815-present, including the Crimean War, The Franco-Prussian War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the 2022 Russia-Ukraine War. Each chapter places the crisis at hand in its historical context, provides a narrative of the case's events that focuses on the decision-makers involved, theoretically analyses the case's outcome in light of current research, and inductively draws some lessons from the case for both scholars and policymakers. The book concludes by exploring common patterns and drawing some broader lessons that apply to the practice of diplomacy and international relations theory. Integrating qualitative information with the rich body of quantitative research on interstate war and peace, this unique volume is a major contribution to crisis diplomacy and war studies.

Contents:

Cover

Half-title page

Title page

Copyright page

Dedication

Contents

List of Tables

List of Text Boxes

Preface

Acknowledgments

Part I Foundations

Introduction

1 Theoretical Framework and Research Design

Conceptual Foundations

The Concept of Crisis

War, Peace, and Their Explanation

The Theoretical Focus: Foreign Policy Decision-Making

The Theoretical Framework

Case Selection

Justification

Our Cases

Part II The Post-Napoleonic Nineteenth Century

2 The Eastern Crisis 1839-1841

Background

The Eastern Question

The Greek Revolt and the Russo-Turkish War

The Eastern Crisis 1831-1833

Historical Events

The Eastern Crisis 1839-1841

Key Variables

Theoretical Analysis

Discerning the National Interest

Did the Concert Prevent War?

Lessons of the Eastern Crisis 1839-1841

3 The Crimean War

Lessons of the Crimean War

4 The Italian War of Independence 1859-1860

The Start of the War, Lombardy

The Expansion of the War, Sicily

Aftermath

Lessons of the Italian War of 1859-1860

5 The Franco-Prussian War

Lessons of the Franco-Prussian War

Part III The Twentieth Century through World War II

6 The Russo-Japanese War

Lessons of the Russo-Japanese War

7 The First and Second Moroccan Crises

First Moroccan Crisis

Second Moroccan Crisis, Agadir

Second Moroccan Crisis (Agadir)

Lessons

Second Moroccan Crisis, Agadir.

8 The 1908-1909 Bosnian Crisis

Lessons of the 1908-1909 Bosnian Crisis

9 July 1914

What Caused the First World War?

Types of War

Why Did the July Crisis Escalate?

The Mobilization Crisis and the Security Trap

The Spiral Model

Deterrence Failure

Time Pressure and the Sweep of Events

The Breakdown of the Political Order

Could War Have Been Avoided?

Lessons of the July 1914 Crisis

10 Munich 1938

Lessons of Munich 1938

Aftermath: The Danzig-Poland Crisis

11 Pearl Harbor

Franklin D. Roosevelt and America's Entry

Japan's Entry

An Asymmetric War

The Role of Alliances

Lessons of Pearl Harbor

Part IV The Nuclear Era

12 The Berlin Crises

The Berlin Blockade

Lessons of the Berlin Blockade

Berlin 1961

Denouement

Lessons of Berlin 1958-1961

13 The Cuban Missile Crisis

Lessons of the Cuban Missile Crisis

14 The 1971-1973 Cod War

Lessons of the 1971-1973 Cod War

15 The Crimea Annexation and the Russia-Ukraine War

The Crimea Annexation

Historical Events, Crimea

The Russia-Ukraine War

Historical Events, Ukraine

Theoretical Analysis.

Lessons of the Crimea Annexation and the Russia-Ukraine War

Part V Conclusion: Lessons for World Politics

16 Patterns

Cases That Go to War

Paths to War

Cases That Do Not Go to War

Summary

17 General Lessons

Lessons for Diplomacy

Lessons for IR Theory

Conclusion

Methodolocial Appendix

The Questions (and Variables) That Guide Case Analyses

Generalizability

Justifying a Small Sample

Questions of Generalizability

The Omitted Major-State Wars

The Omitted Crises that Do Not Go to War

Can We Derive Lessons?

Recounting Historical Events

References

Name Index

Subject Index.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 14 Nov 2025).

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

1-009-65205-2

1-009-65206-0

OCLC:

1569638947